Exhibition
The Imperial War Museum Is Hosting the UK's First Major Exhibition on Sexual Violence in Conflict
Six years in the making, the Unsilenced: Sexual Violence in Conflict exhibition at the Imperial War Museum is the first major show in the UK dedicated to a topic that is still under-discussed. The show will feature case studies from WWI to the present day as well as objects, testimonies and interviews with experts, exploring how and why sexual violence is perpetrated, the impact it has on victims, and the battles for justice and reconciliation. The show will also spotlight the work of four NGOs – Women for Women International, All Survivors Project, Free Yezidi Foundation and Waging Peace – that are leading the fight against sexual violence in conflict.
Feast on the World's Best Food Photography at This Exhibition
See all 185 finalist images from the 2025 edition of the World Food Photography Awards at this free exhibition at Mall Galleries. The selection of images span growing and harvesting to cooking and eating from across the globe, showing that food truly is a universal language. Speaking about the Awards, founder Caroline Kenyon, said: “These images bring global food stories to life: whether the beauty or the drama of food, feast or famine, weddings or food aid. Food is the great leveller, the great unifier and the photography captures this so powerfully. We hope you will take this opportunity to enjoy the very best food photography in the world in London.”
The World Press Photo Exhibition Is Back in London
After a successful return in 2024 following a seven-year hiatus, The World Press Photo Exhibition is back in London with a show at the MPB Gallery at Here East in Hackney Wick. The photos displayed in the exhibition are all entrants in this year’s World Press Photo Contest, a competition that showcases the best photojournalism and documentary photography from around the world. Over 61,000 entries from photographers from 130 countries were submitted for the 2024 contest and the images on display at the exhibition will give people a chance to think about social, environmental, political and cultural topics outside of the news cycle and explore how visual stories help to tackle important global issues.
Discover the Role of Gardens and Flowers in the Work of Cecil Beaton
Cecil Beaton’s Garden Party at the Garden Museum is the first exhibition to dive into the passion that the photographer and artist had for gardens and flowers, and the inspiration they provided for his work. Looking at his gardens at both Ashcombe House and Reddish House, the exhibition will showcase the role that flowers had in his creative practice, including floral installations for parties; painted and fresh flowers used as backdrops for fashion photography and royal portraits; and floral costumes created for Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady and in designs made for the Royal Ballet. A range of paintings, photographs, letters, drawings, costume sketches, and diaries will be on show, many of which have never been publicly displayed before.
See Whether Life Could Exist Beyond Earth at the Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum is going interplanetary with its next major exhibition, Space: Could Life Exist Beyond Earth? Experience some of the Museum’s latest scientific research with this multi-sensory show that explores the search for life beyond our planet. You’ll be able to explore different extraterrestrial environments, like the icy moons of Saturn and Jupiter; snap a selfie with a piece of Mars; touch a fragment of the Moon; check out a meteorite collection, including the Allende meteorite (which at 4.567 billion years old is older than Earth) and Ivuna (which is made from the same material as the Sun); guide a rover over rocky Martian terrain; and listen to the sounds of the Red Planet.
Explore the Life and Work of Hiroshige at the British Museum
The British Museum is celebrating the life and work of one of Japan’s most popular and prolific artists with the Hiroshige: artist of the open road exhibition, the first-ever one on the artist at the Museum and the first in London for 25 years. Working during the last decades of the Edo period, a time of rapid change in Japan amidst the encroachment of the outside world, Hiroshige’s vision of Japanese daily life provided calm for the nation. A range of prints, drawings, paintings and illustrated books, featuring his depictions of landscapes, nature, city views, birds and flowers will be on display, showcasing his skills as a colourist and draftsman, and exploring his legacy and the impact he had on both European masters and contemporary artists around the world.
See Early Works by David Hockney at This Exhibition
Hazlitt Holland-Hibbert is bringing together a number of early works by David Hockney, some of which have not been shown together since the 1960s, with the In the Mood for Love: Hockney in London, 1960–1963 exhibition. The show is the first in-depth exploration of this pivotal period in Hockney’s career, following his breakthroughs at the Royal College of Art. The paintings and related works on paper on display, which include ‘The First Love Painting’, ‘Love Painting – Shame’, ‘The Cha Cha that was Danced in the Early Hours of 24th March 1961’, ‘Life Painting for Myself’ and ‘The Salesman’, show the development of Hockney’s visual language and his exploration of his sexuality, at a time when homosexuality was still criminalised in Britain.
The British Museum Is Exploring the Ancient Art of India
With the Ancient India: living traditions exhibition, the British Museum is exploring the artistic and spiritual legacy of one of the world’s most influential civilisations. As well as bringing together thousands of years of Hindu, Buddhist and Jain religious imagery, the exhibition will feature over 180 objects including sculptures, paintings, drawings and manuscripts. The display will showcase how these ancient religions have shaped the country’s spiritual and artistic traditions, and how they continue to impact the daily lives of billions of people today.
Feel the Sound at This Multi-Sensory Exhibition at the Barbican
The summer the whole of the Barbican Centre, from the foyer to the Lakeside to the car parks, is going to be transformed into an immersive exhibition that’ll change the way you think about and experience sound. Feel the Sound will explore how sound shapes emotions, memories and physical sensations, and encourage you to listen with your whole body and not just your ears. The show will feature a range of interactive installations, including a holographic choral experience; a piece that blends neuroscience and design to make our internal vibrations visible; two works that incorporate frequencies believed to have healing effects; kites carrying extracts of poetry about missing sound with BSL interpretations; and an installation celebrating boy racers and modified car sound systems.
Kurt Cobain’s Legendary Guitar Is Starring in This Exhibition
The Royal College of Music Museum in London is hosting Kurt Cobain Unplugged, an electrifying new exhibition celebrating Nirvana’s unforgettable MTV Unplugged performance. For the first time ever in the UK, visitors will come face-to-face with one of the most legendary instruments in music history: Cobain’s Martin D-18E acoustic guitar. This is the very guitar Cobain played during the 1993 Unplugged set which later became the most expensive guitar ever sold when Australian entrepreneur Peter Freedman AM purchased it for a record-breaking $6 million. Cobain’s iconic olive-green mohair cardigan, worn during the same performance, will also be on display. This marks the first time these two pieces of rock history will be reunited for public viewing. Alongside these treasures, fans can explore original Nirvana gig posters, mint-condition collectable vinyl, and rare guitar memorabilia.
This Exhibition Is Fundraising for Bow Foodbank and The New Normal
The Nice Co., the fundraising initiative founded by Marc Duvivier and Sophie Matthews, is back with another fundraising exhibition to support Bow Foodbank and mental health charity The New Normal, which offers free grief support. Over 20 artists are participating in BE NICE, which features some of the best new contemporary art in London, including Chris Levine, Jelly Green, Anthony Burrill, Isaac Andrews, Charlotte Rose, Lauren Baker, Owen Gildersleeve and Ant Carver.
Marvel at the Diversity of the Natural World at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Exhibition
The 60th Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition is being hosted at the Natural History Museum. The display features awarded images selected around from tens of thousands of entries and it showcases the beauty and diversity of the natural world. See everything from emu chicks walking across sand dunes to manatee calves in the water depicted in the photographs.
The UK AIDS Memorial Quilt Is Going on Display at Tate Modern
The UK AIDS Memorial Quilt, created to commemorate those lost to the AIDS epidemic, is going on display at Tate Modern this June after being in storage for several years. Inspired by the AIDS Quilt he saw in San Francisco in the late 80s, Scottish activist Alistair Hulme set up a similar project in the UK. The quilt is made up of 42 12ft x 12ft panels, each comprising up to eight smaller panels, and each panel is dedicated to someone who died of AIDS. The quilt as a whole represents 384 people who died from around the UK. The quilt was made and displayed at the height of the epidemic to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS, and though antiretrovirals have made it possible to live with HIV, the disease still affects many people around the world and this quilt is a reminder of that. The entire quilt will be hung in the gallery’s Turbine Hall, with live readings of the names taking place at 11am and 2pm on Sat 14th June.
The V&A Is Hosting a Major Exhibition on Cartier
This show at the V&A will be the UK’s first major exhibition on Cartier in almost 30 years. Featuring over 350 objects, including jewels, watches and clocks, the show will explore how the Maison grew to become one of the preeminent names in the jewellery and watch world, beloved by royals and the rich all over the globe. Highlights include the Williamson Diamond brooch, featuring the 23.6 carat pink Williamson diamond, commissioned by Queen Elizabeth II in 1953; the Scroll Tiara worn to the coronation of Elizabeth II, and by Rihanna on the cover of W magazine in 2016; a rose clip brooch worn by Princess Margaret at the Queen’s coronation; and Grace Kelly’s 1956 engagement ring.
Uncover the Secrets of the Thames at This Exhibition
The London Museum Docklands is hosting the UK’s first major exhibition dedicated to mudlarking, where people unearth objects from London’s past when the tides recede to expose the riverbed of the Thames. Over 350 mudlarked objects, ranging from personal items to historic relics will be on display at the Secrets of the Thames exhibition. You’ll also be able to learn how mudlarks explore the river’s foreshore, uncover artefacts and curate their own collections, as well as reflect on the role that the moon and the tides have on the river and on mudlarking.
1880 THAT Is the First Major London Exhibition by Christine Sun Kim and Thomas Mader
Berlin-based artists Christine Sun Kim and Thomas Mader, who have been collaborating for over a decade, are presenting 1880 THAT at the Wellcome Collection, making it their first major exhibition in London. The exhibition explores the complexities of communication, the relationship between sign language and spoken language, and what it means to live with the threat of losing your language. The exhibition takes its name from the Second International Congress on Education of the Deaf that was held in Milan in 1880, where policymakers pushed oral education over sign language, leading to the stigmatisation of Deaf people. With works spanning drawings, film and sculpture, Kim and Mader use humour to showcase the ripple effects that the Milan conference has had on Deaf education and identity.
The Barbican Music Library Is Showcasing the Impact of Black British Music
Following its popular exhibition on emo music, the Barbican Music Library is now hosting a groundbreaking exhibition that showcases the impact that Black British music from the last 100 years has had around the world. Black Sound London covers everything from jazz and lover’s rock to grime, jungle and drill, and explores how artists, ranging from Lord Kitchener to Dizzee Rascal, have shaped the city’s (and the world’s) music scene. The exhibition features mixtapes, magazine covers, merchandise and more, with the public also invited into contribute items to the display.
David Hockney: Bigger & Closer (not smaller & further away) Is Back at Lightroom
After opening new immersive art gallery Lightroom in King’s Cross in 2023 with David Hockney: Bigger & Closer (not smaller & further away), and then returning for a second run in 2024, the British artist is bringing his exhibition back to the venue for a third time. The show brings together 60 years of the artist’s work in a cycle of six themed chapters, alongside a specially composed score by Nico Muhly and commentary by Hockney himself. The experience will see the likes of ‘Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)’, ‘A Bigger Grand Canyon’ and other iconic pieces shape a theatrical exploration of Hockney’s career, from the 60s to the present day; LA to Yorkshire to Normandy.